April 4, 2010

Stop World Bank from Financing Mega-Coal Plant

The follow is a cross-post from Nick Engelfried at at Itsgettinghotinhere, the primary blog for the youth climate movement. I think it’s very important people know about this pending loan, and contact Tim Geithner to stop it.

As an activist in the US working to phase out coal plants, it’s distressing to me to think that so much of what the US climate movement has accomplished in the last few years could be undone by one of the world’s largest coal plant proposals – the fate of which is likely to be decided in the next several days. On Thursday, April 8th, the World Bank is expected to vote on a decision to lend $3.75 billion to a South African utility that wants to build a 4,800 MW (that’s right, 4,800 megawatts!!!) coal plant. Environmental groups ranging from the Sierra Clubto Friends of the Earth are up in arms, urging US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to vote against the loan (follow the links to the “take action” pages for these groups).

With its history of funding mega-dams that displace entire villages, and development projects that destroy rainforests, the World Bank has some work to do to improve its environmental and human rights image. Helping to finance one of the world’s largest carbon pollution projects would not exactly be a step in the right direction, and would cast serious doubt over whether the World Bank’s recent statements on climate change are anything more than empty talk. This is a project the World Bank needs to pull out of, and the United States must exert its influence to make that happen.

Yet the US may refrain from taking a stand on the issue. It looks like the US, under the leadership of the Obama administration, is likely to abstain from voting on the loan to Eskom this Thursday. That could amount to letting the proposal roll forward, negating much of Obama’s work to limit greenhouse emissions so far.

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